Why Did You Do It, Penelope?
by That Was Real Subtle Bentley
Summary: Penelope has been missing ever since she escaped from prison, but she's been seen loose in Paris. That is, until an old school friend of Bentley's decides to (forcefully) arrange a meeting between what remains of the Cooper Gang and the traitorous mouse. Here, they give Penelope a chance to explain why she double-crossed them, but will her reasons allow her a shot at redemption?
1. Smoke Break

_**Why Did You Do It, Penelope?**_ **\- Chapter 1**

* * *

 **The Safehouse, Paris, France, seven months since Sly Cooper's disappearance.  
**

Bentley was miserable. It had been months since the time-travelling heist, and he still hadn't found Sly. His best friend was lost a hundred, a thousand years in the past, and Bentley had no idea when or where his pal was. To make things suck even more, it was all Penelope's fault. His ex-girlfriend, who he met in Holland a few years before and fallen hopelessly in love with her. After what seemed like the perfect relationship, she tore his heart out and stomped on it. She was the one who ran to Cyrille Le Paradox with Bentley's time machine schematics. Because of Penelope, Le Paradox had a time machine. And Sly is gone because Le Paradox had a time machine. This simple fact made Bentley sick to his stomach. If he hadn't got romantically involved with Penelope, she wouldn't have any knowledge about the time machine. They would have finished their Cooper Vault heist and gone their separate ways.

Sly would still be here...

Penelope was arrested and put in a prison in England once Bentley had beaten her in robot hand-to-hand combat, but she promptly escaped. Bentley was still receiving mysterious postcards to date, most likely from her. However, he hadn't seen her since that day. He tried to act like he didn't care anymore, but he was hurting all the time.

Carmelita was also struggling. She'd lost the love of her life to time, and she noticed every second without him there. Her ringtail... suddenly him being a thief didn't matter anymore. He was a wonderful man, who was smart, charming, kind, funny, and she loved him for years without even realising her true feelings, instead focusing more on throwing him behind bars. She also felt awfully guilty about the way she treated Sly after she found out he was back to his thieving ways. She was angry, because Sly had lied to her about his amnesia, but she refused to accept that she had been no better, by telling him he was a police officer, changing who he was as a result. Her stubborn pride prevented her from realising that Sly had sacrificed his family's trade, which spanned for generations, to be with her. She was only a fourth-generation police officer, she should have given up her career for him, but she was too much of a coward. When Sly vanished, she realised how much of a sacrifice he had made for her, and she treated him like dirt, ignoring him, being unpleasant to him, even flirting with his ancestors, just to make him jealous. She hated herself for her petty behaviour. She'd been dying to apologise to him for months, but Penelope, she's the reason Sly will never know how much he meant to Carmelita. She resented the mouse for her two-faced greed.

Murray took Penelope's betrayal pretty hard. Ever since she helped him save his beloved van in China, she became his best buddy for life. Both being vehicle enthusiasts, they spent every free moment they had talking about various cars, vans and planes, and their many experiences with them. Murray loved hearing Penelope's many victories in ACES, while she had a particular favourite story of his; the time he raced for a treasure key in Mesa City. The tight corners, the gangster dogs, the necessity for the key! If Murray didn't get that key, Sly wouldn't be able to get Muggshot's section of the Thievius Raccoonnus, and the mission would fail! Her first hearing of the story had her on the edge of her seat, mouth hanging open in pure awe.

Meanwhile, on the roof of the safehouse, was an old friend of Bentley's. A rabbit with white fur, long, curly brown hair, dark blue eyes, and piercings was sat on the flat roof, smoking a cigarette while gazing across the city's nighttime view. She had to smoke outside to avoid triggering Bentley's asthma, as well as to avoid Carmelita's wrath, as the police inspector despised smoking. She obliged, but preferred sitting on the roof instead of standing outside, watching the Parisian scenery. She saw the many buildings across the city, with its twinkling lights dotted across the landscape. The Eiffel Tower loomed in the distance. The night breeze blew through her fur, ruffling it slightly. Up here, it was peaceful, and it was her favourite place to be. The beautiul sights, the many sounds, a quiet place to be alone and smoke; it was perfect.

Her nose twitched as she smelled the smoke trailing off her cigarette, as did the nose ring in her left nostril. She took another drag, before exhaling sadly. Like Bentley, Mona Douglas had been torn by Penelope's betrayal. Her and Bentley went way back, to their Junior year of high school. Mona, being quite an accomplished hacker, taught Bentley all she knew. Hailing from England, her accent caught the attention of many classmates. Many of them tried hitting on her, whereas Bentley was the one person who finally spoke to her like a normal person. Through Bentley, she met Sly and Murray, and provided some assistance for their few heists during semester breaks. She and Bentley kept in contact after graduation, with the rabbit returning to England, and Bentley and his crew relocating to Paris to begin tracking the Thievius Raccoonus.

Two years after gradation, Mona met Penelope at an RC convention, and was incredibly impressed by the mouse's skill, controlling a little RC car as if it were simply an extension of her own body. Coincidentally, the Cooper Gang were trying to impress the same mouse a year later. Upon Mona's realisation that it was the same Penelope she knew, she immediately vouched for her RC abilities, saying she was "an absolute goddess" when it came to RC vehicles. She also said Penelope was the "sweetest person you could ever meet".

So when Bentley told Mona about her betrayal, she was crushed. There was no way that the woman who sold the Cooper Gang out was the same woman Mona met at ArSeeCon 2004. She couldn't believe it. On top of that, the explanation Penelope had provided didn't seem right, almost out-of-character. Money? Penelope was not a greedy person, it didn't add up. To be a celebrated person? From what Bentley had told Mona, Penelope didn't think twice about giving up being the Black Baron, a celebrity. Then what what is?

She found herself in Paris the following day to not only help Bentley get over this devastating blow, but to help him find Sly, and so far, they had had no luck. She found herself fiddling with her lip rings, two rings next to each other on the right side of her mouth. She always did this when she was thinking, or stressed. Or both. She sighed, took a final drag, then threw her cigarette butt off the roof. She was about to get up when she saw a flash of purple and yellow duck into an alleyway. Normally Mona wouldn't have thought twice of this, but the speed the figure moved at was incredible. Mona quickly crouched down and stared hard into the alley, to see if the figure would emerge. It did.

And there Mona saw the familar mousey features of Penelope, much to her disbelief. Before she registered what she was doing, she scrambled off the roof and barrelled into the safehouse.

* * *

 **Alright, here's another story. This one does tie in with _Fight of Fancy_ , not just with chronology, but with OC Mona. You don't have to read it (as of 05/03/2018, it's not even finished), as I've included everything you need to know here. I figured I would add an OC because it would give Bentley & Co. a fresh angle in their search for Sly. **

**As I'm sure many people would agree, I wasn't happy with Penelope's betrayal, but Sanzaru's reasoning just didn't make sense, and was incredibly out of character. This is just a piece to create some logic as to why Penelope would do such an awful thing.**

 **If you liked this, please follow and review, as more is sure to come.**

 **Cheers!**

 **~TWRSB**


	2. Do You Trust Me?

_**Why Did You Do It, Penelope?**_ **\- Chapter 2**

* * *

"Guys!" Mona yelled. "You won't believe who I just saw!" She lost her footing and tumbled to the ground, banging her head on a nearby table as a result.

Bentley looked up from his computer, while Carmelita dashed in from the living room, and Murray from the kitchen.

"What is it?" Carmelita demanded, apprehensive of the rabbit's discovery. She scooped Mona up off the floor. The rabbit was slightly unsteady on her feet for a couple of moments, before continuing.

"You're not gonna believe this, but I saw _Penelope_. I actually _saw_ her outside." She gasped, frantically pointing outside.

No one said anything.

"You sound happy about that." Bentley said, disappointment in his voice.

"I guess I am. Look Bent, I know what happened between all of you guys and her, but she's family." She said with a guilty expression on her face. She hated siding with both of them, and she could feel the gang hate her at that very moment.

"Family don't backstab you." Murray stated flatly, eyes welling up with tears.

" _My_ family." Mona insisted. "Ever since her father died, she's been like my little sister, I've always kept an eye on her. It's my job to support her, and to straighten her out when she acts up." She saw the fury in everyone's faces. She sighed before continuing. "Look, I've been conflicted about what happened. She's family, and I've been painfully disappointed by her actions, but what you guys have told me doesn't add up."

"She did exactly as we told you!" Bentley argued.

"It doesn't sound like her though." Mona insisted.

"But it was her! She told me she wanted to make the most of my potential. She said what the Cooper Gang stands for is 'honourable thief nonsense!" The turtle yelled, waving his arms in frustration.

Mona sighed. "I'm sorry, but I'm really not convinced."

"She's why Sly is gone!" Carmelita shouted. "Why can't you see she messed things up for all of us!"

"I can see the damage - hell, I can feel it, Vestie was my friend too!" Vestie was the nickname Mona gave Sly, derived from his full name, Sylvester. "But I'm not convinced that those were really Penelope's actions!" The rabbit screamed.

"Then you're foolish to think that it was someone else. I saw her try to kill Sly with my own eyes."

"Carmelita..." Mona said calmly, the sudden change of tone surprising the fox. "I want to find out why she really did this." Mona said, before gazing over the vexed vixen. "Surely you do too?"

The police inspector growled in frustration and stormed off to the edge of the room. Mona's optimism infuriated her. The fact that she thought Penelope didn't mean to betray the gang was stupid. For someone with an IQ of 125, her ideas were stupid and childish. She would love to lash out at the rabbit, a roundhouse kick to the face would solve every-

"Maybe she knows where Sly might have ended up." Mona offered. Carmelita froze, but refused to turn around and face her. "But I think we should try and find out her reasons for what she did, maybe we can make sense of things. The reasoning you guys told me, it sounds like some poorly thought-out plot, like a characterisation plot-hole. I don't buy it."

"We're telling the truth Mona." Murray sniffed. "That's what she told us."

"I do believe you, but surely you can say it doesn't make sense. Look, I'll even make a deal with you guys."

"I'm listening." Carmelita murmured. Mona looked at Bentley, who was waiting, and Murray, who was still visibly upset.

"We lure her here, tie her up, and listen to her side of the story. Maybe she could hear ours too, so she knows how she's ruined everything we had. Bentley, you and I know that she's too proud to fake remorse. She won't grovel, she won't apologise unless she meant it."

Bentley nodded in agreement, but quickly stopped himself. "I don't even know who she is anymore." He whispered sadly.

"But I do. If she genuinely regrets her actions, we take her back. She might be able to help us."

"And if she doesn't?" Bentley asked.

"Well," She said with a small, sad chuckle. "she's an escaped prison convict. We won't tell her this, but if we're not satisified with her reasoning-" She looked over at the Interpol officer. "-then the bust is all yours, Carmelita."

Carmelita slowly turned around, venom in her eyes. Penelope took everything she had, and she was not prepared to get her another chance. Mona took this moment to reassure her.

"You have to trust me." She said, with her arm outstretched. "Do you trust me?"

Carmelita looked at Mona's outstretched hand. She hesitated, before reaching out for her hand. She gently clasped it before pulling the surprised rabbit in for a hug. "With my life." She whispered in Mona's ear. Carmelita knew that Mona's unwavering loyalty was one of her best traits, and because of it, she knew that she could put all of her trust in her. As soon as Bentley told Mona about Sly's disappearance and Penelope's betrayal, she packed up everything and moved to Paris without hesitation. Carmelita had spent the last half-year working alongside the rabbit, and she couldn't help but think she was a fantastic addition to the Cooper Gang. Although she looked like a harmless desk-jockey, she knew the young rabbit would do anything to protect her friends. She even helped Carmelita vent her private grief. The vixen found her presence comforting, and one day, found herself crying in front of Mona. She missed Sly so much. Mona said they all did, and that they would find him, no matter what.

"Bentley?" Mona said as she broke away from the hug.

"I'm in." The turtle declared.

"Murray?"

"Me too!" The hippo said, with a strong determination about him.

"So here's what we do..."

* * *

Penelope was terrified. It had been seven months since she woke up in a prison in England, and she had no idea why she was sent there. She knew she had to get back to Bentley, but she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she had done something awful. After breaking out of prison, she tried sending cryptic postcards to get his attention, without revealing to the authorities where she was, hoping the talented turtle would find her. But no help came.

She tried Mona's apartment in England, but found out she had moved out only two months before her escape: the same time she was locked up. With no other ideas, the mouse spent months slowly making her way to Paris, while keeping a very, very low profile. It had taken her five months to get to Paris. Despite her burning desire to see Bentley, she was too scared to find him.

She'd done something awful, but couldn't remember what. She'd hurt poor Bentley... and suddenly she didn't care anymore. To hell with the turtle, why should she care? To hell with the Cooper Gang, to hell with all of them.

She'd found temporary refuge in a café, where she was trying to make her hot drink last as long as possible. She spent the last of the little money she had on a coffee, and its warmth was comforting; she hadn't had proper sustainance for a while, and was famished.

She watched the world outside, scanning for police officers. She was no longer the anonymous mechanic, she was an convict on the run. Suddenly, a familiar face caught her eye outside. A face she hadn't seen for nine months.

 _Mona?_

She hastily finished her coffee, stood up, and left the café.

 _Finally, a friendly face!_


	3. Rope

_**Why Did You Do It, Penelope?**_ **\- Chapter 3  
**

* * *

Penelope couldn't believe her luck; her closest friend was here, in Paris! Maybe things could turn around, maybe she would finally have an ally. She quickly went through the door, trying to hide her face as much as possible. The night breeze hit her face, chilling her considerably. The effects of her drink had already worn off.

 _So much for that_ , she thought. She watched the rabbit wander down the street, and noticed an alley was ahead of her. It would be the perfect place to drag her aside and talk to her without being spotted by the police. Her brisk walk turned into a jog as she tried to catch up with Mona. She didn't dare calling out her name out of fear of attracting unwanted attention. Jogging was a risk in itself. She finally caught up with the woman, grabbed hold of her arms and dragged her into the alleyway.

"What the-?" Mona cried, preparing to give her attacker a right-hook to the jaw as she struggled against the arms holding onto her. The grip loosened, and Mona looked at the foe.

"Mona, it's me, Penelope!" The mouse whispered, while beaming brightly. Mona's jaw dropped.

"Penelope? What are you doing here? I heard you got arrested! What's going on?" Mona stammered, unsure of how to react to Penelope's sudden appearance.

"It's a long story, but I'm so glad to see you." Penelope said, tears welling in her eyes. She gave Mona a tight embrace, unwilling to let go. It had been too long since she'd been in friendly company. Mona hesitantly returned the hug, still in a state of disbelief. She quickly snapped out of. Despite the awful things she had been told, she was really glad to see the little mouse. She hugged her even tighter. "I need your help. I need a place to lie low for a while. As you can see-" She gestured at her tattered, torn and faded yellow jumpsuit. "-I've been living rough. Can you help me out?" She offered a weak smile.

"Yeah, of course I will!" Mona replied, offering a weak smile. "Anything for you. We'll head back to my place, get you cleaned up, and order a pizza, sound good?"

Penelope nodded weakly. Mona noticed that her friend had been crying slightly. She could see a single track where a tear had run, removing the grime from her dirty face.

"I've missed you Dougie."

"I've missed you too Penny."

Penelope loved those nicknames, and smiled. It felt strange, she hadn't smiled in months. She hadn't smiled since she left Bentley. Why did she leave Bentley? She couldn't remember, no matter how hard she tried. Her memory failed her.

Penelope was about to hug Mona again, when she noticed that, for a split second, the rabbit's line of sight flickered to a spot behind the convict. She suddenly got the feeling that something was very wrong. Then a familiar voice from behind confirmed that very fact:

"Don't move."

"Inspector Fox." Penelope growled, before feeling a shock pistol against the back of her head. She rose her hands in surrender. She felt a sudden and unexplainable wave of anger stir inside of her, the intensity of it boiling her blood. She wanted to attack the police officer, and the woman who she viewed as a sister. She wanted to break their faces. But she was trapped. "And you," Penelope snarled at Mona. "I should have asked why you relocated here. I should have known, you're a cop!"

"No, not even close Penny." Mona replied sadly, while Carmelita put Penelope in handcuffs. The use of the nickname, which only seconds before have filled Penelope's heart with happiness, made a white-hot wave of rage sweep her brain. "I heard all about your affiliation with Le Paradox, what you did to Sir Galleth Cooper, what you did to Bentley. I know everything." She continued. "So we're gonna have a little chat about things, see if we can make it right." She shrugged. "And this next thing that's about to happen; I'm sorry."

"I'm not." Carmelita smirked.

Penelope felt a crushing pain on the back of her head, and everything went black.

* * *

The mouse crumpled into a heap on the ground. Mona looked at Carmelita with an expression of concern; that was a violent swing. She was surprised Penelope wasn't bleeding.

"You'll get the boot open?" Mona asked.

"Boot?" Carmelita questioned.

"Trunk." Mona corrected, laughing at her English terminology. The fox nodded and headed to the car. Mona delicately scooped Penelope off the concrete, and carried her over to the car. She looked at the unconcious mouse, and felt a pang of disappointment in the pit of her stomach. She thought back to when she met the shy mouse, and how soft-spoken and sweet she was. The thing she was talking to when Carmelita held her up was a sick, twisted monster. She'd seen it with her own eyes now, Bentley was right.

She gently placed her in the trunk. She really didn't want to do this, but they all agreed that if she regained consciousness while in a passenger seat, things could get ugly. She took one last look at her before slamming the door down.

She walked around the left side of the car, and sat in the driver's seat. She started the ignition, put the car in gear, and released the handbrake. She pulled out into the road- the _right_ side- and started to head back to the safehouse. She changed up to second gear, to which Carmelita noticed was done clumsily.

"Are you new to driving?" She politely asked. After all, Mona had only just bought this car.

"Nope. Been driving in the UK as soon as I returned. I'm just not used to left-hand drives you see." She replied, concentrating as she changed up to third. "I'm not used to using my right hand for the transmission, always left." She laughed. "Notice I'm not stalling? I have clutch control, I can drive, honestly."

Carmelita saw the rabbit's grinning face and let out a small laugh too. "I noticed Mona." Carmelita hadn't laughed since Sly disappeared. She felt a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, which quickly died at the thought of Sly. If they ever found him, she knew she would have to make it up to him.

"Just sit back and relax, I'll get us there in one piece!"

* * *

Mona pulled up to the safehouse, took the car out of gear, put on the handbrake, and cut the engine. She and Carmelita got out the car and checked down the two streets looking onto the safehouse. No one was nearby. Mona popped the trunk, and saw Penelope was still out cold. With great care, she scooped up the mouse, and carried her inside, leaving Carmelita to lock the car. Mona was greeted by Bentley and Murray staring at the unconscious woman.

"She looks..." Murray started, drifting off as he was unsure of which adjective to use.

"Awful." Bentley finished, his face displaying a miserable expression. She looked dreadful and it killed him. Despite the terrible thing she did, Bentley still loved her. He couldn't let go, despite the rationalising from his intelligent brain. He loved her too much to give up on her, but his trust in her was completely shattered. But Mona's suggestion of bringing her in lit a tiny spark of hope in his heart.

"Yeah, well," Mona started, resting their visitor on the sofa next to the door. "she's been living rough for a while now. No one looks good after that. You can see she hasn't been eating properly for months, I've never seen her like this before." Her face was stony, as she was trying to hide how much seeing Penelope was crushing her. "She'll come around at some point, Carmelita hit her pretty hard." She crouched down to the mouse's level, and stretched out her hand towards Carmelita.

"What?"

"Keys, for the cuffs."

"No way, I am not removing them." Carmelita argued, scowling at Mona. "She could run for it."

"I've seen how she is, all this running has reduced her to a scared little girl at heart." Mona stated, slightly irritated by Carmelita's refusal. Reluctantly, Carmelita placed the key in Mona's outstretched hand. The rabbit then unlocked the cuffs, and removed them, freeing the unconscious Penelope. She brushed the lock of blonde hair dangling over Penelope's face out of the way, and removed her glasses. She delicately placed them on the coffee table she'd nearly concussed herself on. She grabbed a chair, pulled it over to the sofa, and sat on it. She was going to watch over the mouse.

* * *

Penelope began to regain consciousness after twenty minutes. She gazed around the room, looking at the various blurry shapes and colours, but not taking in where she was. She saw a fuzzy figure sat across from her. As she sat up, she was handed her glasses. Although smudged, putting on the glasses brought Penelope's world into a sharper focus.

"Welcome to the world of the living." Mona joked, with a smirk. "How's the head?"

Penelope's lips flapped uselessly. "How.. where... what? Where am I?" She rubbed the back of her head gingerly. A slight lump had formed, but it would heal. She gazed over to the handsome turtle sat in the wheelchair. Her heart skipped a beat, and then sunk to the pit of her stomach.

"Just relax." Mona reassured. "We just want a chat, we'll keep it nice and civil, okay?"

The mouse barely acknowledged Mona's words, instead fixated on the love of her life. She couldn't remember what caused it to fall apart.

"I'm going to ask you this one more time." Bentley said flatly. "Why did you do it, Penelope?"

Penelope looked blankly at the the turtle. _What did I do?_ she thought. "I don't know what you're talking about." She whimpered.

"Sir Galleth Cooper? Medieval England? Moat Monster? Any of it ringing any bells?" Bentley queried, raising his eyebrows skeptically.

"I... I don't remem-" Penelope started, before a skull-splittingly agonising headache shot through her head like a never-ending bolt of lightning. She grabbed her head, forcing herself into a foetal position on the sofa, and started screaming. The sudden change forced Mona to leap to her feet, before turning around to the others.

"What do we do?!" She yelled, frantically gesturing at Penelope in a panic.

"What even is this?" Carmelita cried, unsure of what to make of the mouse's screaming fit. "Migraines?"

"She's never had any before." Bentley cried, his voice cracking with concern as he watched her start to writhe uncontrollably. Murray watched helplessly, mouth hanging open in shock. She thrashed off the sofa and landed on the floor with a dull _thud_ , still screaming at the top of her lungs and clutching her head. Mona sprang back, knocking her chair flying with a loud _crash_.

"Make it stop!" She screamed, tears running down her face. "Please, make it stop!"

Then, without warning, it stopped. The thrashing and the screaming ceased. Mona dropped to her knees.

"Hey, are you okay?" The rabbit asked, voice quivering anxiously.

After a few moments, she slowly picked herself up, shoving Mona away from her. When she was on her own two feet, she glared at the others in the room.

"I'm still mad about my Moat Monster." Penelope sneered. "And I remember everything, you tragic Robin Hood wannabes."

Bentley's chest tightened. Mona was wrong, she was responsible. The sweet and smart mechanic he met was gone forever.

"Penelope," Mona said, taking a step away from the mouse. "what's gotten into you?"

"I trusted you to keep me safe, and instead, you drag me here?" Penelope spat. "You're just as pathetic as these guys." She spread her arms out to gesture towards Carmelita, Murray and Bentley.

"Your father would be ashamed of you Penelope. He'd be ashamed of what you've become." Mona said sadly. "His beloved little pinky has become a self-absorbed, greedy and twisted woman. You were right Bentley, this is her now. The Penelope we knew is gone. Pieter would be so disappointed."

A wave of anger filled Penelope. How dare Mona bring her _papa_ into this? How dare she! Penelope clenched her fists.

"Screw you." She said menacingly. Before anyone could react, she swung at Mona. The rabbit quickly sprang back, dodging the blow, before ducking and tackling the mouse. They both crashed onto the sofa, the force of their fighting causing the piece of furniture to topple over. Penelope wriggled on top, grabbing the scruff of Mona's t-shirt in her left fist. The former boxing champion moved automatically. With her free hand, she swung at Mona's face, once, twice, three times. The fourth swing was interrupted as Mona grabbed the mouse's arm. Before the mouse could register what had happened, Mona dealt a harsh punch to Penelope's face, shattering her glasses. The splinters of glass embedded themselves into the rabbit's knuckles, and one shard caught Penelope's head. Before Penelope could recover from the punch, Mona flipped the mouse off of her, before springing up and trapping her in a headlock.

Penelope struggled, but was no match against the data processor. Her eyebrow was cut, and blood trickled down her face. Mona looked no better, as the left side of her face was a bloody and bruised mess. Her hand was dripping blood too.

"Don't worry guys," Mona panted. "I've got this. Anyone got some rope?"


	4. Secretion

_**Why Did You Do It, Penelope?**_ **\- Chapter 4**

* * *

They did have rope. And Carmelita took great satisfaction in tying up the mouse, despite Mona's earlier protests that she would be fine without being restrained. Ths smirk the fox gave made the rabbit shoot back a dirty look through her bloodied face.

"Right then," Bentley started, "Mona, you get cleaned up. I'm going to talk to Penelope." Murray escorted Mona into the kitchen while Carmelita slunk back into the corner. Bentley wheeled closer to the woman he was still in love with.

"Tell me why you went to Le Paradox." He instructed. The mouse laughed a small, evil chuckle before speaking.

"I already told you, it was for you. I was going to drop that dumb skunk once I had got what I wanted." The mouse explained with a smug smirk.

Bentley shook his head sadly. "But we already had money!" He protested. "Sly left the Cooper fortune for us when he left, and you saw it!"

Penelope snorted in derision. "Robin Hood riches, we didn't earn it." She flicked her head in an attempt to move the lock of hair from her face. "Besides," she continued, "it wasn't about the money, it was the recognition, the acknowledgement, instead of playing second fiddle to a raccoon who only knew how to run along ropes. There's no intelligence behind that."

Suddenly, Carmelita took an angry step forward, with a murderous expression on her face. Bentley, having anticipated this, wheeled in front of her.

"Stand down, Carmelita." He ordered. "This isn't what we're here for."

"What are we doing then?" The vixen angrily snapped back. "Instead of wasting our time with... this-" she gestured towards Penelope. "-we should be trying to find Sly." Upon finishing her sentence, Carmelita's face reverted back to its usual, sullen expression.

"Find Sly?" Penelope asked, cocking her head slightly. "He's missing?"

The turtle and the fox exchanged a look between each other.

"Maybe we should fill her in." Bentley murmured, pushing his glasses up his nose.

* * *

Murray and Mona were sat at the kitchen table. The rabbit was holding an ice bag to her face, while the hippo removed glass splinters from her other hand with a pair of tweezers.

"Your face looks pretty bad Mona, no offence. Are you sure you're okay?" Murray asked sheepishly.

"It looks a lot worse than it is, big guy." She replied with a weak smile. "Besides, I'm just glad she didn't rip out my nose ring."

"That would have been nasty." He said with a grimmace. "But she does boxing, she doesn't fight dirty."

"She doesn't fight dirty?" Mona challenged. "I know I wasn't there, but I have two words for you pal: ACES final."

The hippo shot an amused look at her. "You make a good point." He said before extracting another piece of glass from Mona's hand. She flinched, to which Murray apologised.

"Murray, you don't have to apologise every time you pick out a piece of glass." Mona laughed.

"Sorry."

* * *

"Fill me in on what?" Penelope suspiciously asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Sly's disappearance." Bentley said, feeling his throat tighten. He missed his friend more than he could ever attempt to express. He cleared his throat as he heard a strangled sob from Carmelita. "He went down with Le Paradox's blimp."

"So, is he missing or dead?" Penelope skeptically asked. "It sounds like it crashed and you couldn't find him. If that's the case, then he's de-"

"Le Paradox's time machine malfunctioned, and took the blimp with it." Bentley continued weakly.

"Took the blimp where?" Penelope asked.

"We don't know where. Or when." Bentley replied solemnly.

"When?" She gasped, her eyes widening in disbelief. "So the time machine Le Paradox had..."

"Was your fault." An English voice. Penelope looked to the doorway leading to the kitchen, to see her bruised and battered friend standing, her right hand bandaged and hanging limply by her side. "You sold us out, Le Paradox had a time machine, and now our best friend is nowhere to be found. And it's all your fault Penelope." She said coldly.

Penelope guiltily stared at her feet. She couldn't bring herself to look anyone in the eye.

"Our friend, and I mean yours too, is missing because of the stupid reckless decision you made." The rabbit continued, tears beginning to stream from her face. "Plus you stomped on Bentley's heart, running out on him like that!"

"It wasn't my decision." The mouse whispered.

"Don't give me that crap! You know what you did! You knew what was going to happen!" Mona yelled, storming across the room towards the captive guest.

"I don't have much time!" Penelope screamed back. "I don't remember anything of what you said. Medieval England, Le Paradox, nothing!"

"And why not?!" Carmelita screamed, losing her patience.

"Just look at my arm!" The mouse cried. "I don't know what's in there, but it's doing something to me! You've gotta get it out!" She gazed up at Bentley, her eyes wide with terror.

"She's telling the truth." Bentley said. "Let's have a look. Carmelita, untie her." He ordered, to which the Vixen complied. As the rope fell to the floor, Penelope gingerly flexed her arms.

"This hurts so good." She murmured to herself, before regaining focus. "Just look at this, quickly!" She rolled up the sleeve of her jumpsuit, before extending her left arm. Everyone gathered around, and they saw it.

Scar tissue. A sharp, shiny line of white, where an incision had been made on her forearm, just below the elbow joint.

"What is it?" Murray asked.

"I don't know big guy," Penelope replied, "but I think Le Paradox put something in me. A device, but I think it's starting to fail." She delicately rubbed the scar. "I don't know when this thing will kick in again, but it has to go, please."

* * *

"Fascinating!" Bentley exclaimed, examining a small device the size of a flash drive. "This device secretes a substance with similar properties to the illegal spices the Klaww Gang used. It allows a user to be hypnotised, and results in extreme and uncontrollable anger. Except Penelope's behaviour was inconsistent."

"So what, the little dohickey was running out of juice?" Mona queried, holding an ice bag to her face.

"Precisely." He replied.

"Short-term effects also involve blindingly painful migraines and short-term memory loss." Stated Penelope, who was sat on the sofa beside Murray, nursing her bandaged arm. Luckily, Mona's handiwork meant that the mouse had been lifted from her bizarre technological curse.

"So, how did you get that in you?" Murray asked, before taking a bite out of his sandwich.

"I missed tinkering with engines." She confessed. "I was answering an advertisement for mechanics, but turns out it was a trick of Le Paradox's. I get knocked out, and the next thing I know, I wake up in an English prison months later." She gently cradled her arm. "I noticed the scar and I could feel something under my skin. I knew it was bad news."

"It must have been terrifying." Bentley said gently, wheeling over to his ex-girlfriend. She gave a small nod. "But it's over now," he continued, "you're safe."

Hesitantly, he rested his hand on her knee. With her free hand, she rested it on his, giving it a gentle squeeze. A squeeze that said _thank you so much_.

"I want to help you guys find Sly." She boldly announced. "It's my fault this has happened, and I want to fix it, if you'll let me."

The turtle thought about this for a moment. A fresh mind on this task could pull up some new leads. "Find him, and we'll wipe the slate clean." Bentley offered.

"Agreed." Mona chirped from the background.

Penelope gazed at everyone in the room. The turtle who she could feel herself falling in love with all over again, the battered rabbit who was one of her closest friends, the friendly hippo who was her fellowvehicle enthusiast, the vixen whose life she had ruined...

"Deal." She said with a warm smile. "Let's go find us a master raccoon thief!" She declared.


End file.
